The Del Castillo brothers take the lead at the Snipe World Championship in a wind-affected day

Gustavo and Rafael del Castillo take the lead after a single race marked by shifts and patches of pressure.

The light and shifty wind has turned the standings of the Snipe World Championship at Club Marítimo de Mahón upside down. Brothers Gustavo and Rafael del Castillo, representing Real Club Náutico de Gran Canaria, are the new leaders after a second day on which only one race could be completed. Their fourth-place finish yesterday, Wednesday, September 23rd, puts them at the top of the overall standings with 16 points, displacing many of the favorites who occupied the leading positions after the opening day.

The Mahón racecourse offered a completely different picture on Wednesday from the previous day, when northerly winds blew at the upper limit permitted by the class rules and remained steady enough for two races. Nothing like what happened yesterday. Principal Race Officer Ariane Mainemare explained that the Race Committee needed five knots of wind to start the race.

“We tried to get a first start away, but the wind dropped to three knots during the starting procedure, so we had to postpone again. Eventually, we were able to complete one race with between four and six knots. There was no room for a second race because we risked the wind disappearing,” she said. The forecast for tomorrow points to even lighter conditions, although the Race Committee will wait for the latest weather updates.

Gustavo del Castillo also highlighted the difficulty of the day: “It was a very long day because the wind just wouldn’t settle in. In the end, we were able to sail one race in acceptable, although very marginal, conditions. There was pressure in some areas and flat spots in others, so we had to be in the right place and maintain good speed.” The new overall leader remained cautious about the four days of competition still to come: “The level is extremely high and today we saw some top crews have a bad result. Tomorrow it could happen to us. We have to take it race by race and try to finish in the top ten or fifteen every time. We’ll see where we stand on the final day.”

Americans Ernesto Rodríguez and Taylor Scheuermann climbed from eighth to second after finishing fifth, bringing their total to 24 points. With the same score, the Belgian crew of Manu Hens and Alexandre Tinoco moved from seventh to third thanks to their seventh-place finish. Murcia-based Francisco Sánchez Ferrer and Marina Sánchez Ferrer, who finished second in the race, made one of the biggest comebacks among the leading crews, climbing twelve places from 16th to fourth.

Ernesto Rodríguez acknowledged that luck had also played a role in a race featuring light winds and numerous changes in pressure. “We waited a long time for the wind to stabilize and sailed in an average of around six knots. The conditions were completely different from yesterday and we had a bit of luck today. If we’re second, we’re very happy.” The American sailor hopes the wind will strengthen during the final part of the championship: “Tomorrow’s forecast doesn’t look good, but it could improve on Friday and Saturday. Hopefully we’ll be able to sail; we came here to compete and nobody wants to stay ashore.”

Local sailors Damián Borrás and Javier Magro, representing Club Marítimo de Mahón, also benefited from a day that punished any mistake or unfavorable tactical choice. Their sixth-place finish lifts them from 21st to ninth overall, with 47 points. They are the first crew made up entirely of sailors from Menorca in the provisional standings.

The leaders from the opening day suffered the consequences of the unstable conditions. Alfredo González and Cristian Sánchez, who led the overall standings yesterday, finished 31st and dropped to sixth overall with 34 points. The defending champions, Julio Alsogaray and Malena Sciarra, scored a 35th-place finish and fell from second to eighth. José Manuel Guerrero and Nahuel Rodríguez, third at the start of the day, dropped to 14th after finishing 51st.

The biggest drop among the leading local contenders came from Jordi Triay and Lluís Mas. The European champions, who were fifth after the first two races, scored a 68 and now sit 22nd overall.

The standings remain wide open after three races, with the discard coming into effect from the fifth race onward. The Del Castillo brothers lead Rodríguez and Scheuermann and Hens and Tinoco by eight points. There are 18 points between the leaders and sixth-placed González and Sánchez.

Norwegians Reidar Berthelsen and Lise Gehrken won the only race of the day. Their victory does not bring them close to the leading positions because they did not complete the first two races, leaving them 64th overall. Sánchez Ferrer and Marina Sánchez crossed the finish line in second, while Brazilians Felipe Linhares and Andreis Castro took third. They were followed by the new leaders, Gustavo and Rafael del Castillo, with Ernesto Rodríguez and Taylor Scheuermann in fifth.

The World Championship continues today, Thursday, September 24th, with the third day of competition. The first warning signal is scheduled for 11:30 a.m., with two further races planned, provided conditions allow them to take place.